Intel has officially launched Thunderbolt 5, the next version of the connectivity standard that aims to give consumers expanded display support and double the speed compared to Thunderbolt 4.
According to AppleInsider, it was first introduced in preview form in October 2022, but now Intel has officially introduced Thunderbolt 5. Along with formalizing the technology’s capabilities, Intel also demonstrated the technology’s capabilities using a laptop prototype and docking station
Thunderbolt 5 promises to be a major improvement for creative professionals and those with high bandwidth requirements as it provides up to 80 Gbps bi-directional bandwidth by adopting the PCI Express 4 protocol, compared to PCI Express 3 over Thunderbolt 4. For comparison, Thunderbolt 4 offers speeds of 40 Gbps.
Intel also includes a feature called Bandwidth Boost that allows speeds of up to 120 Gbps over cable for multi-video transmission, three times the throughput of Thunderbolt 4. This connection will also double PCI Express data throughput, allowing faster storage connections and improving bandwidth available to external graphics systems.
For end users, while Thunderbolt 4 is capable of running two 4K displays at 60 Hz, Intel says Thunderbolt 5 can work with multiple 8K displays or displays up to 540 Hz, or three displays. 4K runs at 144 Hz.
Built on USB4 V2, DisplayPort 2.1, and PCI Express Gen 4, with full backward compatibility, Thunderbolt 5 will also run using new PAM-3 signaling technology for improved performance.
Intel expects the first computers and accessories using the company’s “Barlow Ridge” Thunderbolt 5 controller to begin shipping in 2024. Although Apple is a widespread Thunderbolt user, it has not yet It’s unclear whether their products will use Thunderbolt 5 soon or have to wait a while after the first hardware supporting this connection ships.